Game Preview: Milwaukee at Hershey, 7 p.m.

December 2, 2017

Milwaukee Admirals (11-8-1-0) at Hershey Bears (9-10-0-3)
Saturday, December 2, 2017, 7 p.m.
Giant Center

REFEREES: Olivier Gouin (54), Peter Schlittenhardt (12) 
LINESMEN: James Tobias (61), Tom George (61)

Broadcast Information (Pre-game 6:30 PM)
RADIO: WQIC-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, WOYK 1350-AM, 88.9 FM in arena at Giant Center, Hershey Bears App--Zack Fisch, the Voice of the Bears and Mitch Lamoureux on the call
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream
WATCH LIVE: AHLLive.com

AHL STANDINGS
AHL MEDIA KIT FOR TONIGHT'S GAME

ADMIRALS AT BEARS: The Hershey Bears return to the Giant Center this evening looking to snap a two-game skid as they host the Milwaukee Admirals. Tonight is the first meeting in Chocolate Town between these two clubs since the 2006 Calder Cup Finals. The Admirals last visited Hershey for Game 5 of that series on Jun. 13, 2006, a span of 11 years, 5 months, and 19 days ago. Tonight is Pennsylvania Lottery Night, Dietz & Watson Dollar Dog Night, and Faith & Family Night. 

LAST NIGHT: The Bears dropped a 7-2 decision last night on the road versus the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Hershey got goals from Garrett Mitchell and Liam O’Brien, but the Phantoms pulled away with three goals in a span of just 2:13 in the second period. Hershey surrendered three goals in both the second and third periods and went 0-for-2 on the power play. The Bears allowed as season-high 41 shots in the losing effort. The Admirals fell 5-4 in overtime last night at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Mark Zengerle had a goal and an assist, and Trevor Murphy notched three assists. Juuse Saros suffered the loss in goal, stopping 26 shots.

LAST TIME VS. ADMIRALS: The Bears and Admirals met in Wisconsin on Oct. 20 with Milwaukee earning a 4-1 win. Wayne Simpson had the lone goal for the Chocolate and White, as the Admirals outshot Hershey 26-16 in the victory. The Bears went 0-for-5 on the power play while Milwaukee was 1-for-7. Emil Pettersson had two assists for the Admirals.

200 FOR GAZLEY: Tonight is Dustin Gazley’s 200th game as a member of the Hershey Bears. In 199 games with the Chocolate and White, Gazley has tallied 91 points (43 goals, 48 assists) with a +25 rating. The native of Novi, Michigan is in his fifth season with the Bears.

2006 MEMORIES: Tonight is Milwaukee’s first visit to Hershey since the 2006 Calder Cup Finals. The Bears won their ninth Calder Cup, beating the Admirals in six games that year. The last time the Admirals visited the Giant Center was on Jun. 13, 2016 for Game 5 of that series. Hershey rolled to a 6-4 victory after bolting out to a 3-0 lead through the first period. Hershey’s Brooks Laich scored 20 seconds into the game and Eric Fehr added a pair of goals. Freddy Cassivi stopped 33 shots to earn the victory in goal. Cassivi was the MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs, outdueling current NHL All-Star goalie Pekka Rinne, and stopping the likes of future NHL’ers Shea Weber, Kevin Klein, Scotty Upshall, Jordan Tootoo and Rich Peverley. The Bears would go on to win the Calder Cup, besting the Admirals 5-1 on Jun. 15, 2006 at Bradley Center.

MILWAUKEE TIES: While no players on Hershey’s active roster have skated with the Admirals in the past, two of the club’s coaches once called Milwaukee home. Assistant coach Reid Cashman, a former defender, spent part of the 2009-10 season with the Admirals. He skated in 37 games with Milwaukee, scoring 12 points (four goals, eight assists). In addition to Cashman, Hershey’s associate goaltending coach Alex Westlund is also a former Admiral. The netminder appeared in seven games with the Admirals during their IHL days in 2000-01, he went 2-2-0 with a 2.57 goals against average and .920 save percentage. He returned to Milwaukee, now in the AHL, during the 2001-02 campaign, going 1-1-0 in five games.

WELCOME BACK: Last night’s contest marked the return of Hershey forwards John Albert and Garrett Mitchell. Albert suffered an upper-body injury during Hershey’s 4-3 victory over Hartford on Oct. 29 and missed 12 games. The veteran forward has tallied three points (one goal, two assists) in 10 games with Hershey this season. The former captain of the Manitoba Moose has 158 points in 293 career AHL games. Mitchell returned to the lineup last night with a bang, scoring his fourth goal of the season. The captain suffered a lower-body injury during Hershey’s Nov. 15 victory over Syracuse. Mitchell’s goal last night was the 50th of his AHL career.

TWO FOR TYLER: Hershey defender Tyler Lewington tallied a pair of assists in yesterday’s 7-2 loss at Lehigh Valley. For Lewington, it was the first two assist game of his AHL career. The contest also marked the third time Lewington has notched a multi-point game in his AHL career. The Alberta native has played 125 AHL games, all with the Chocolate and White, tallying 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) to go along with 295 penalty minutes. Lewington was originally a seventh round selection of Washington, 204th overall, in the 2014 NHL Draft.

BEARS-ADMIRALS FAST FACTS: Tonight’s game will feature two Labrie’s (Hershey’s Hubert Labrie and Milwaukee’s Pierre-Cedric Labrie) and well as two O’Brien’s (Hershey’s Liam O’Brien and Milwaukee’s Andrew O’Brien)…Hershey was hoping to have forward Nathan Walker in the lineup this weekend, but the Aussie was claimed off waivers from the Capitals by the Edmonton Oilers…Milwaukee’s Bobby Butler has six points (three goals, three assists) in his last five games…While Hershey rarely plays versus the Western Conference these days, since the start of the Washington Capitals affiliation in 2005-06, Hershey is 50-36-3-8 versus Western Conference.